• Animal cells and systems
• /
• v.2 no.1
• /
• pp.55-63
• /
• 1998

The effects of inflorescence herbivory and flowering time on plant architecture and reproductive yields were examined with a perennial herbacious species, Vicia cracca, occurring in Natick, Massachusetts, USA. Natural herbivory on inflorescences was observed among the total of 157 plants during a growing season. Vegetative and reproductive characters were measured in the field as well as in the lab depending on the characters. Approximately 64% of the plants were subjected to herbivory on inflorescences. Plants were classified into three groups; unbrowsed plants, partially browsed, and totally browsed plants, according to the level of herbivory on inflorescences of each plant. Plants were also categorized by their flowering time such as early vs late flowering plants. Herbivores tended to favor inflorescences on rather small plants, resulting in a pattern of totally contact or partially intact inflorescences on taller plants. The mean number of stems, which was assumed to be a direct result of severe herbivory in this population, differed among herbivory groups. There also was a tendency that plants flowering late in the season had more nodes with more leaves, suggesting that herbivory on stem tips early in the season before flowering might have induced growth of side branches or branchlets along the main stems. Comparison between unbrowsed and partially browsed plants showed that the latter compensated for browsing in terms of numbers of inflorescences, fruits, seeds and seed size (weight), though they did not compensate in flower number. The probability of fruit production (presence vs absence of fruits) and seed weight declined toward the end of the season. These results suggest that resources are deficient at the end of the season. Almost complete reproductive failure in totally browsed plants is attributed to the destruction of inflorescence display and the disadvantage of small vegetative size of those plants. After all, in this population, a moderate level of herbivory on inflorescences did not reduce the maternal fitness of the plants. However, severe herbivory on inflorescences resulted in antagonistic interactions between plants and herbivores.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
• /
• v.24 no.12
• /
• pp.415-427
• /
• 2021

Wetland ecosystems act as natural freshwater purification systems, but their rich biodiversity is being threatened with the introduction of the non-native freshwater snail, Pomacea canaliculata. This study was conducted to measure the herbivory effects and growth rate of P. canaliculata on common macrophytes: Ipomoea aquatica, Ipomoea batatas, Pandanus amaryllifolius and Cucurma longa. In separate experiments, the macrophyte species were served as the snails' food as individual species and simultaneously. In the individual treatment, the growth pattern and rate were based on the snails' weight (mg/snail/day; n = 9) while the individual feeding consumption (mg/snail/day) was calculated from the leftover food. In the simultaneous treatment, the herbivory effects were evaluated as the feeding preference (%) from observations every two hours, while the total feeding consumption (mg) was calculated based on the food remaining after a 12-hour experiment (3 replicates: total n = 27). The results indicated that the growth pattern was significant for snails grazing on I. aquatica but not when other macrophyte species were eaten. The individual feeding consumption was higher when using I. aquatica than P. amaryllifolius but the growth rate for snails grazing on I. aquatica and P. amaryllifolius did not differ significantly. Meanwhile, the consumption of C. longa deterred the snails' growth rate. Although the snails consumed all the macrophytes in the individual experiment, when given the species simultaneously, the feeding preference and total feeding consumption were directed significantly more toward I. aquatica than P. amaryfollius and C. longa. We conclude that P. canaliculata is a generalist feeder given a limited choice of food but tends to show a strong feeding preference after being introduced to more food choices. These findings indicate that the introduction of P. canaliculata into wetland ecosystems may increase the herbivory effects on macrophytes, making these ecosystems vulnerable to the impact of eutrophication and biodiversity reduction.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
• /
• v.20 no.2
• /
• pp.131-135
• /
• 2018

Plants produce extrafloral nectar (EFN), liquid of carbohydrates to protect themselves against various insect herbivores through attracting natural enemy, ants, wasp and parasitoids, so EFN production is well known as one of indirect defense mechanisms. In many plants, EFN production is increased or induced when plants are attacked and damaged by insect feeding, whereas there are some plants whose EFN production is not altered or even decreased upon insect attack. The feeding types (chewing or sap feeding) of insects attacking plants also affect EFN production. The objective of this study was to examine how insect herbivore alters production of extrafloral nectar of Impatiens balsamina. Two different types of herbivores, leaf chewing and sap feeding insects, Spodoptera litura and Impatientinum impatiens respectively, are utilized. Plants were mechanically damaged by making holes on leaves with Jasmonic acid (JA) and regurgitate of S. litura added on. Two different densities of aphids were confined on leaves. The results of the study was that mechanical damage and JA or regurgitate addition did not affect EFN production in I. balsamina. Aphid feeding, regardless of density treated, decreased EFN production. The results of the study suggest that production of extrafloral nectar of Impatiens balsamina can be changed by insect feeding, and the effects of insect feeding can depend on the type of insects.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
• /
• 2021.04a
• /
• pp.20-20
• /
• 2021

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• v.45 no.3
• /
• pp.143-151
• /
• 2021

Background: Plants are able to optimize defense responses induced by various herbivores, which have different feeding strategies. Local and systemic responses within a plant after herbivory are essential to modulate herbivore-specific plant responses. For instance, leaf-chewing herbivores elicit jasmonic acid signaling, which result in the inductions of toxic chemicals in the attacked leaf (tissue-specific responses) and also in the other unattacked parts of the plant (systemic responses). Root herbivory induces toxic metabolites in the attacked root and alters the levels of transcripts and metabolites in the unattacked shoot. However, we have little knowledge of the local and systemic responses against stem-boring herbivores. In this study, we examined the systemic changes in metabolites in the wild tobacco Nicotiana attenuata, when the stem-boring herbivore Trichobaris mucorea attacks. Results: To investigate the systemic responses of T. mucorea attacks, we measured the levels of jasmonic acid (JA), JA-dependent secondary metabolites, soluble sugars, and free amino acids in 7 distinct tissues of N. attenuata: leaf lamina with epidermis (LLE), leaf midrib (LM), stem epidermis (SE), stem pith (SP), stem vascular bundle (SV), root cortex with epidermis (RCE), and root vascular bundle (RV). The levels of JA were increased in all root tissues and in LM by T. mucorea attacks. The levels of chlorogenic acids (CGAs) and nicotine were increased in all stem tissues by T. mucorea. However, CGA was systematically induced in LM, and nicotine was systematically induced in LM and RCE. We further tested the resource allocation by measuring soluble sugars and free amino acids in plant tissues. T. mucorea attacks increased the level of free amino acids in all tissues except in LLE. The levels of soluble sugars were significantly decreased in SE and SP, but increased in RV. Conclusions: The results reveal that plants have local- and systemic-specific responses in response to attack from a stem-boring herbivore. Interestingly, the level of induced secondary metabolites was not consistent with the systemic inductions of JA. Spatiotemporal resolution of plant defense responses against stem herbivory will be required to understand how a plant copes with attack from herbivores from different feeding guilds.

• The Korean Journal of Ecology
• /
• v.24 no.6
• /
• pp.377-380
• /
• 2001

Herbivory is an important selective forces on plants by reducing the ability of the plant to compete with its neighbors and to produce offspring. Oak nut weevil(Mechoris ursulus Roelofs) females lay eggs in unmatured acorns and cut off the branch of oviposited acorns. To investigate the influences of branch-cutting behavior of oak nut weevils on oak production, we surveyed the horizontal and vertical distribution ranges of damaged oaks and depth of sites of overwintering larvae and quantified the amounts of biomass and acorn removed by the weevils on deciduous oak species. All of the endemic oak species in Korea were damaged by oak nut weevils in all of the study sites including Mt. Halla and Mt. Seorak. The upper limit of vertical distribution of damaged oaks by the weevils raried from 700 m to 900 m. Mostly their larvae were found in soil from 8.1 cm to 10.0 cm depth in winter. Percentage of annual net primary productivity($720g{\cdot}m^{-2}{\cdot}day^{-1}$) of oak species removed by the weevils was about 7%, which is higher than the percentage removed by all the herbivores in typical temperate forest(5%) and equivalent to that by all the herbivores in tropical forest. The predation percentage of annual acorn production by oak nut weevil was 27% in Q. mongolica and 33% in Q. acutissima. This results indicate that the branch-cutting behavior of oak nut weevil may be the most important factor regulating oak population and affecting other predators dependent on acorns.

• Ocean and Polar Research
• /
• v.33 no.4
• /
• pp.457-472
• /
• 2011

To elucidate the trophic role of heterotrophic nano- and microplankton (HNMP), we investigated their biomass, community structure, and herbivory in three different water masses, namely, south of Polar Front (SPF), Polar Front Zone (PFZ), the Sub-Antarcitc Front (SAF) in the Drake Passage in the Southern Ocean, during the austral summer in 2002. We observed a spatial difference in the relative importance of the dominant HNMP community in these water masses. Ciliates accounted for 34.7% of the total biomass on an average in the SPF where the concentration of chlorophyll-a was low with the dominance of pico- and nanophytoplankton. Moreover, the importance of ciliates declined from the SPF to the SAF. In contrast, heterotrophic dinoflagellates (HDFs) were the most dominant grazers in the PFZ where the concentration of chlorophyll-a was high with the dominance of net phytoplankton. HNMP biomass ranged from 321.9 to 751.4 $mgCm^{-2}$ and was highest in the PFZ and lowest in the SPF. This result implies that the spatial dynamic of HNMP biomass and community was significantly influenced by the composition and concentration of phytoplankton as a food source. On an average, 75.6%, 94.5%, and 78.9% of the phytoplankton production were consumed by HNMP in the SPF, PFZ, and SAF, respectively. The proportion of phytoplankton grazed by HNMP was largely determined by the composition and biomass of HNMP, as well as the composition of phytoplankton. However, the herbivory of HNMP was one of the most important loss processes affecting the biomass and composition of phytoplankton particularly in the PFZ. Our results suggest that the bulk of the photosynthetically fixed carbon was likely reprocessed by HNMP rather than contributing to the vertical flux in Drake Passage during the austral summer in 2002.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Environment and Ecology Conference
• /
• 2011.04a
• /
• pp.31-33
• /
• 2011

화외밀선(EFN)의 형태로 엽연부의 엽맥 끝에 넥타를 분비하는 것은 가막살나무 5 수종에서 모두 관찰되었다. 가막살나무, 산가막살나무에서는 잎 뒷면 선점(pellucid dot)이 분포하는 것이 좋은 방어전략이라 판단된다. 가막살나무의 선점에서 넥타를 먹는 포식응애들이 다수 관찰되었다. 분꽃나무의 잎 뒷면에는 성모 이외에 별모양의 부드러운 털이 있으며, 이를 포식응애가 먹는 것이 관찰되었으며, 이 구조가 가막살나무, 산가막살나무에서의 선점과 같은 역할일 것이라 추정되나 좀더 정밀한 연구가 필요할 것이라 판단된다. 수종별로 독특한 방법으로 초식에 대한 방어전략을 개발하면서 꾸준히 진화하고 있다고 판단된다. 여기에 화학적 방어전략이 추가된다면 식물이 살아남기 위하여 얼마나 열심히 노력하고 있는가를 어느 정도 이해할 수 있을 것이라 기대된다.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• v.47 no.1
• /
• pp.24-31
• /
• 2014

This study was conducted to clarify the seasonal and elevational pattern of herbivore's feeding pattern in a temperate deciduous forest. We investigated the herbivore's feeding activity for three years (2011~2013) at three survey sites in Mt. Jirisan National Park (Piagol, Siamjae, Nogodan). We selected target tree species based on the dominance across the sites (Quercus, Acer, Rhododendron and Carpinus) and scored herbivore's feeding activity every one or two weeks from April to June using leaf damage index. We found that the herbivory started early at the low elevation site (Piagol, ${\approx}300m$), and the highest feeding activity occurred at the mid elevation site (Siamjae, ${\approx}900m$). At the highest elevation site (Nogodan, ${\approx}1300m$), the herbivory started late, but the total feeding activity accumulated quickly. Compared to the breeding time of Varied tit, an insectivore bird, it was overlapped with the feeding activity period of herbivores, suggesting close interaction among plants, insects and birds in this deciduous forest. We suggested a need of long-term monitoring of this tri-trophic interaction since duration of herbivore activity can be changed followed by climate change.

• The Korean Journal of Ecology
• /
• v.19 no.6
• /
• pp.507-517
• /
• 1996

To explain the horizontal expansion of a rhizomatous perennial, Convallaria keiskei(lily-of-the-valley), in a study site of Chunchon, Kangwon Province, Korea, ramet growth and clonal structure were studied. Remarkable growth stategies were clarified. First, the timing for the successive phenological events such as sprouting. flowering and rhizome growth for lily-of-the-valley was fitted to exploit early spring when the canopy of overstory was opened. Second, these events were supported by effective matter allocation pattern: for example, two-year investment for new rhizomes enabled the first year ramets to mature in six weeks after sprouting and to grow up to 85% of the leaf area of perennial ramets. Finally, the ramet population was increased by local disturbances such as freezing, herbivory and collection by human. The rule that a clone was supposed to produce one new thizome per year was broken by occasional disturbances. Then, up to 5rhizomes from latent bur could be redeveloped. Based on clonal structure, 80% or total clones have from 1 to 4 ramets. this means there have occurred minor disturbances. Therefore, in conclusion, the successful flourishing of lily-of-the-valley came from its effective frowth strategy to take advantage of site disturbance.